Judge Young Goes Too Far In His Advice

April 28, 1992|The Morning Call

In his reviews of the challenge to the charitable status of Lehigh County hospitals, Judge Robert K. Young has established for himself a role of authority on an important question. Last week, he dealt with Allentown Osteopathic Medical Center, upholding its tax-exempt status. But other sections of his opinion were out-of-bounds.

Osteopathic is at a crossroads, and Judge Young devoted a good portion of his order to unsolicited advice on which way to go. Osteopathic wants permission to build a new $34 million hospital in Upper Macungie Township. The proposal was rejected by state health planners, but Osteopathic requested reconsideration. That decision is expected next month.

Osteopathic's plans have been criticized sharply. It has promised, however, to keep the clinics that serve elderly and poor people at its city location. In fact, that service goes a long way to justifying its tax exemption, and the judge had nothing but admiration for how much the hospital staff accomplishes in its present, cramped property.

Beyond that Judge Young strayed. He said that there is a surplus of hospital beds in the Lehigh Valley. Even without counting any of Osteopathic's 150 beds, the region will have between 108 to 628 excess beds, he estimated. At a cost of $34 million, he said, it is not worth moving 150 beds to the suburbs, much less adding 10 more, as originally was proposed to the state.

On the other hand, Osteopathic, in part of its application to move, has stated that it cannot survive in the Hamilton Street building. Its occupancy rate is too low, there is no room for needed modern equipment, expansion up or out is not feasible and there is nowhere for staff, patients or visitors to park.

The third option, Judge Young suggested, is for the hospital to go out of business. He couched this advice in the form of guidance to the hospital trustees, who ultimately must make such decisions, but it is nonetheless shocking. And, he admitted, it is an opinion reached only after facing the difficulty of divorcing the emotional attachment of community support that Osteopathic and its staff have earned over the years. But, said the judge, the evidence convinces him that Osteopathic has outlived its need, and the Valley can no longer afford to support it.

Judge Young has earned widespread admiration for his reviews and audits of county hospitals. His directives to Lehigh Valley Hospital to divest its for-profit subsidiaries took courage. The formula he devised for establishing charitability in the St. Luke's Hospital case was wise and dependable. And his advice to Sacred Heart Hospital to focus on the care of mothers and infants came from a sensitive response to the needs of the community.

But the legal issue still is whether any hospital deserves the tax exemptions it enjoys. Judge Young said Allentown Osteopathic does. Beyond that, he used his good office to enter a debate in which Allentown has high stakes, but one in which he has no more claim to be heard than any other citizen.